Local police reported a big rig driver fell asleep and hit the rear of a fuel tanker at 10:45 PM. This ignited a fire in the big rig that shut down all lanes of I-695. The driver of the truck was taken to a local hospital with serious injures that were not life threatening. No one else was injured.

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Our truck accident attorneys are relieved that no one apparently suffered life threatening injuries in this serious, rear end truck crash.

As more truck accidents are happening, more truckers are falling asleep behind the wheel. The above accident is especially alarming; the tanker could have exploded and led to serious loss of life.

For years, there has been growing evidence that sleep apnea is very common in truck drivers. The airway of people with the disorder close when they sleep. This can interrupt their sleep many times per hour. They may not notice that they wake up, but they can end up exhausted after they had what they thought was a full night’s sleep. When truckers fall asleep while driving, the accidents can be truly awful.